PHNOM PENH, 28 October2014: The seven-inch scar runs diagonally across the left flank of his skinny torso, a glaring reminder of an operation he hoped would save his family from debt but instead plunged him into shame.

PHNOM PENH: A Taiwanese woman has been charged with human trafficking after allegedly sending hundreds of Cambodians to work in slave-like conditions on fishing boats off Africa, police said Wednesday.

Lin Yu Shin, owner of the now defunct Giant Ocean International Co. Ltd, was arrested in the tourist hub of Siem Reap last Friday, according to Chiv Phally of the interior ministry’s department tackling human trafficking.

Loch’s story may sound extreme, but it is not some isolated incident. An estimated 27 million people are victims of slavery around the world, according to the U.S. State Department. The buying and selling of humans is a multibillion-dollar global business, ensnaring vulnerable people who are often kidnapped or tricked into the trade.